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Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a range of operating environments for personal computers. The range was first introduced by Microsoft in 1985 and eventually came to dominate the world personal computer market. All recent versions of Windows are fully-fledged operating systems. Versions The term Windows is used as a collective term for numerous very different products, falling into four broad categories: * 8-bit Operating environments. These simply provided a graphical user interface or desktop, and required a separate operating system to provide essential services, such as disk access, monitoring the keyboard for input, and so on. Examples include GEOS (1980). None of them were functional without the C64-ROM. * 16-bit Operating environments. These simply provided a graphical user interface or desktop, and required a separate operating system to provide essential services, such as disk access, monitoring the keyboard for input, and so on. Examples include Windows 1.0 (1985), Windows 2.0 (1987) and its close relatives Windows 286 and Windows 386, Windows 3.0 (1990), and Windows 3.1 (1992). None of them were functional without DOS. * Hybrid 16/32-bit bundled operating system and environment. These Windows versions still required DOS for basic functionality but integrated a version of Microsoft's MS-DOS into the package, so that it was not possible to buy Windows without also buying Microsoft DOS. Examples include the three versions of Windows 95 (first version in 1995, subsequent bug-fix versions in 1996 and 1997) and two versions of Windows 98 (1998 and 1999). The second version of Windows 98 and was dubbed "Windows 98 Second Edition". In 2000, Microsoft released Windows ME, which used the same core as Windows 98 but adopted the visual appearence of Windows 2000. * True 32-bit operating systems originally designed and marketed for higher-reliability business use with no DOS heritage. Examples include Windows NT 3.1 (1992, numbered "3.1" to match the Windows version, and because it was based on what was about to be OS/2 3.0), NT 3.51, NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. Windows CE, for embedded systems, is also a true 32-bit operating system. * 64-bit operating systems are one of the newest operating systems, compatible with AMD's AMD64 CPU architecture and Intel's IA-64, the Intel Architecture 64-bit. Examples of Windows 64-bit OSes are Windows XP 64 Bit Edition and Windows Server 2003. Interface The most obvious feature of the more recent Windows versions (since Windows 95 and NT 4.0) is the desktop, which is similar to IBM's 1992 OS/2 Presentation Manager. The Windows desktop has produced a significant change in the way people and computers interact; it is possible to perform many common tasks with very little computer knowledge, including some quite complex ones. Windows XP introduced a new visual style dubbed "Luna", which updated the classic Windows style (a plain 2D look) with a more graphical appearence. The new style features bold colors and a larger titlebar and start button, leading many to call it the "playskool" interface (after a popular brand of childrens toys). Users can still elect to use the old Windows 2000 visual style. Modern operating systems need to cater for the vastly increased user base with a lower average computer skill level and the increased power and complexity of modern computer systems. Therefore, some technically savvy users accuse the Windows interface of isolating the user from too much of the inner workings of the computer, making it more difficult to control and configure some system features. However, this has always been an issue to some extent with GUI operating systems, and, to a lesser extent, almost all operating systems, by definition. Popularity Windows has achieved enormous market penetration. Windows is thought to be installed on over 90% of personal computers at present. In fact, Windows comes pre-installed on most computers (as a bundled OEM version), making it the default choice for much of the market. Most consumers do not delete Windows and install another operating system, although this is an option. Security Security has been a major issue with Windows family products for many years. Most modern operating systems were designed for security in a multi-user and/or networked environment and have a relatively small number of security issues. Windows was originally designed for ease-of-use on a single-user PC without a network connection, and did not have security features built in from the outset. Combined with occasionally flawed code (such as buffer overruns) Windows has been the successful target of hackers and virus writers numerous times. The Blaster worm of August 2003 is a recent example. Microsoft publicly admitted their ongoing security problems shortly after the turn of the century and (according to their press statements) now regard security as the number one priority. Microsoft releases security patches through its Windows Update service approximately once a month, although critical updates are made available at shorter intervals. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, updates can be automatically downloaded and installed if the user elects to do so. Microsoft introduced a new security initiative called Palladium in 2001. The system has since been renamed "Next Generation Secure Computing Base". Palladium is a system which allows a program to verify that it is unmodified, and is running on "trusted" hardware with "trusted" drivers and a "trusted" architecture. This, in theory, assures the software that it is running on unmodified software and hardware. Palladium has a particular use in DRM systems. Microsoft may implement Palladium in later versions of Windows. Initiatives Microsoft has a number of new initiatives planned or in progress: .NET, Palladium and the "Longhorn" operating system, which is due in or around 2005, although some Microsoft executives have indicated that a 2006 release is likely. There is some current speculation that Microsoft may use .NET and Longhorn as a way of moving away from the Windows brand. It is suggested that this may help Microsoft avoid the consequences of antitrust actions, as it will be able to claim that the Windows successor is an entirely new product, and not subject to any regulation applied to Windows. Further down the road, there is the "Blackcomb" operating system, which is due sometime around 2008, and will have both a client (for the average user) and server version. Current Versions of Windows *Windows CE for embedded systems **Pocket PC for PDAs **Smartphone for mobile phones **Handheld PC for sub-notebook computers **Portable Media Center for Digital Media Players *Windows XP for desktops and notebooks **Windows XP Home for home desktops and notebooks **Windows XP Professional for business and power users ***Tablet PC for notebooks with touch screens ***Media Center for desktops and notebooks with an emphasis on *Windows Server 2003 for servers **Web Server for basic web serving (up to 2 processors) **Standard Server for web serving, small database and email servers (up to 4 processors) **Enterprise Server for medium database and email servers (up to 8 processors) **Datacenter Server for large database servers (up to 32 processors) *Windows XP Embedded for embedded systems Past Versions of Windows *DOS Based **Windows 1.0 **Windows 2.0 **Windows 3.x **Windows 95 **Windows 98 **Windows ME *NT Kernel Based **Windows NT **Windows 2000 **Windows NT for DEC Alpha, IBM PowerPC, and MIPS systems. (All discontinued as of 2000) See also *History of Microsoft Windows *Microsoft *Windows API *Windows Media *Internet Explorer *Hardware **WinHEC **VGASAVE *Upcoming Versions of Windows **Windows Longhorn **Windows Blackcomb * Other Operating Systems **List of operating systems **OS Advocacy **Linux **Unix **Mac OS X **GEM Emulation and Virtual Machine Software Emulation or the the use of "virtual machines" allow the use of some Windows applications without using Microsoft Windows. * WINE - open source implementation of the Microsoft Windows API, allowing one to run a Windows app on x86 Unix-based platforms, including GNU/Linux. * Open Directory Project - DOS and Windows Emulators * ReactOS - open source operating system, aimed to be compatible with Windows NT apps and drivers, although still very much at infancy at the moment. Related * Free Windows Help Tutorials * NTFS.org - A Windows magazine named for the Windows NT/2000/XP File System. * Open Directory Project - Windows